QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Burney, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Burney in the 24 hours to 6:51 am PST (14:51 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 11 km (7 mi) ESE, at 3:08 am PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Burney

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) northwest of Burney, CA, at 6:41 am PDT on 15 August 2021 (13:41 UTC), 8.6 km deep.

USGS: 14km N of Big Bend, CA

6:41 am PDT, Aug 15, 2021 · · 8.6 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Shasta County 44 kmSiskiyou County 73 kmModoc County 110 kmTrinity County 116 kmTehama County 116 kmLassen County 117 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
6:41 am PDT on 15 August 2021 ()
Where
35 km (22 mi) northwest of Burney, CA · earthquakes near Burney
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
8.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Shasta County, 44 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1856 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Burney, 35 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: McCloud.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 41.1423, -121.8963. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Shasta County, CA 44 km (27 mi) SSW earthquakes near Shasta County
Siskiyou County, CA 73 km (45 mi) NW earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Modoc County, CA 110 km (69 mi) ENE earthquakes near Modoc County
Trinity County, CA 116 km (72 mi) WSW earthquakes near Trinity County
Tehama County, CA 116 km (72 mi) SSW earthquakes near Tehama County
Lassen County, CA 117 km (73 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lassen County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

38 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 12km SSW of Tennant, CA
  2. 1.8 4km N of McCloud, CA
  3. 1.7 24km N of Shasta Lake, CA
  4. 1.7 27km N of Shasta Lake, CA
  5. 1.9 13km N of McCloud, CA
  6. 2.8 11km N of McArthur, CA
  7. 1.7 23km N of Shasta Lake, CA
  8. 1.8 16km W of Round Mountain, CA
  9. 1.5 12km W of Round Mountain, CA
  10. 2.1 14km E of Big Bend, CA
  11. 1.9 8km SSE of Tennant, CA
  12. 1.6 10km WNW of Montgomery Creek, CA
  13. 1.7 13km W of Round Mountain, CA
  14. 1.9 4km NNE of McCloud, CA
  15. 2.2 4km NNE of McCloud, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.